Mental Earth Community

The stigma of mental illness weighs heavily on the undeserving shoulders of those who suffer.
Mental Earth is a virtual support community for those who feel isolated and misunderstood, providing a supportive, safe and secure environment.

Why don't they understand? I'm tired of feeling lonely and embarrassed. If only people could see me instead of my mental illness.

I feel ugly inside. The pain is unbearable at times. If my family or friends could walk a mile in my shoes, maybe they would put their arms around me and tell me they're here for me instead of saying, "Pick yourself up and change your attitude," as if I like feeling this way.

I'm tired of faking it, putting on an empty smile and behaving as if everything is wonderful. The thing is, everything should be wonderful. I've got a loving family, a great job. . . yet it seems all for naught. What's wrong with me?

Support

We're a supportive community. We are not arm chair therapists, but friends helping friends. Support here comes in many ways, whether it is offering or receiving it, just reading other people's experiences or sharing your own. Support can also be found in humor, artistic expression, games and sharing one another's interests.

Safe

Our staff members are known as "Hosts" at Mental Earth. They are there to assist members and keep our site safe. Posts that are hurtful and judgmental are taken down. Staff is on site the majority of the time. If problems occur in the absence of staff members, administration can be paged by PMing Eros or PlanetX. Safety also means safe from administrative abuse. Administrative decisions are made by staff member input. No one person can make unilateral decisions except the owner if the site is at risk. This is very rare.

Secure

Secure refers to anonymity. We supply software that prohibits guests viewing any part of the site; they must register with a valid email address to gain access. Unlike many other sites, our software also prevents search engines from gaining access to the site, so no one can Google a member's username and what they've posted. Security isn't full-proof however. Members have to take appropriate steps in order to protect their identities as well. Our software and policies provide the structure, the rest is up to each member.